Life Is A Dead Man's Party
by Kat Lee formerly Pirate Turner
Summary: Angel will do anything when Dennis comes to him on Halloween night to tell him that it's not too late to save his beloved Cordelia even though her body lays buried.  Het.
1. Chapter 1

Title: "Life Is A Dead Man's Party"  
>Author: Pirate Turner<br>Rating: PG-13  
>Summary: Angel will do anything when Dennis comes to him on Halloween night to tell him that it's not too late to save his beloved Cordelia even though her body lays buried.<br>Warnings: Het, Alternate Universe  
>Word Count: 6,867<br>Date Written: 24-30 October, 2011  
>Challenge: For a DiteysBlessings LJ comm's monthly challenge<br>Disclaimer: Cordelia Chase, Angel, Dennis, and all other characters mentioned within are ﾩ & TM Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, not the author; are used without permission; and may not be used without permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter One**

The existence of a ghost was a miserable one indeed. It was never ending and extremely, painfully lonely. There was little that a ghost could do to relieve their boredom, and they had far too much time to think. There had never been a ghost who hadn't spent too much time dwelling on the past, in Dennis' opinion, both all the wrong things they had done while living and all the things they'd done while still human that, whereas the deeds themselves might not have been wrong, they still would have done differently.

He'd had too many regrets over his living life, and now he had too many regrets about his ghost life. There was too much he had done, too much he had seen, too much he would have changed for him to ever rest peacefully, but what hurt the most was knowing that he'd let down his very best friend in all the world. The dearest friend he'd ever had through both life and death had needed him direly, and he had let her down.

He rattled Cordelia's pictures as he floated impatiently through their apartment. He'd known something was wrong when Angel and his team had come to take Cordy's items, and he'd hidden these pictures away from them, refusing to allow them to take every memory he had of his cherished best friend, a woman who could not have been more of a sister to him if they had been born together as they should have been. He had wept and howled over her. He had scared every potential tenant away, and he still did even now on the rare occurrence that the landlord thought to try to rent out the apartment again. He'd never let any one else back into his space. Nobody belonged living here with him other than his Cordy.

And yet he had let her down. It wasn't his fault, Dennis thought, though he still moped. It was really Angel's more than anybody else. He was the dumb ass who'd always let their Princess down, and it was for him that she'd tried so hard to be better and that had caused her to lose the very basic right and decency of possession of her own body. They'd told him that she was dead, but they'd been wrong. Dennis hadn't known it then, so he'd not been able to tell them. Not that they would have listened had he tried.

But he had known the truth now for a whole year, a year spent reminiscing about good times and bad, about when the beautiful Princess Cordelia had first blazed her light into his life and defeated his evil mother and all the times since, both when they had laughed together and when he had held her while she had cried over Angel. He remembered every thing they'd ever done together as though it had just happened yesterday, and he cherished every memory. Yet what he clung to the most was his determination.

It wasn't too late. Angel and his crew had signed Cordelia off for dead. They'd buried her, they'd told him weepingly, but Dennis knew Cordelia still lived . . . or, rather, existed as well as he himself did. He knew, because he had heard her crying last Halloween and had turned his phantom eyes to look between the dimensions. He had found her there, trapped, and for just a scant moment, they'd been able to talk. He had learned of the sacrifice she'd made on the last night he'd seen her, the night she'd at last gathered all her bravery to her and set out to tell Angel that it was truthfully he who she loved and always had been.

She had made the ultimate sacrifice that night in the belief that she'd be able to help her beloved Angel achieve his dream and save the world in a way more powerful than any time they'd saved it before. She had given of herself, her heart and soul, for that Vampiric dumb ass, and it had torn Dennis' own heart and soul asunder to learn of what she'd really endured. His dearest friend had been tricked horribly and had lost her own body in the process of trying to give Angel his soul.

Her body had been taken by a great evil called Jasmine, and it had been Jasmine who had returned in Cordelia's body, Jasmine who had - Dennis had shuddered greatly as Cordelia had tearfully reflected upon the story - bedded Angel's son with Cordy's body, mind wiped all of her friends, and tried to kill Angel. She had taken over the world with Cordelia's body, and Cordy, trapped in limbo, had felt everything she had done with her body. She had even felt her body die, but though her human shell had been buried six feet deep, Cordelia's spirit lived on, still in search of a way back to her world, her family, friends, and love, and still very much able to live again if only she'd had her body.

She had cried like never before as she had told Dennis everything that had happened, and he'd shoved against the doorways separating them with more force than even he had ever known he had. By the time she'd finished her tale, the sun had just been starting to rise. Halloween had finished, and their chance of crossing the planes, or getting the foolish mortals to hear and understand them, was gone with it. Cordelia had howled with pain and anguish as she had been sucked away from Dennis, and the doorways had slammed shut between them again with such force that he'd been sent spiraling backwards and almost out of the apartment. If he hadn't been trapped in the apartment, he would have gone straight through the building, but the apartment was his cage, just as that place between worlds was his beloved Princess' trap, and Dennis had been forced to wait in his cage for a chance that had not come for a year.

He'd waited all year, hoping and remembering, chasing away every prospective tenant that came to investigate the apartment, scaring the bejeezus out of a ghost hunter and a holy Priest that the landlord had called in to try, in such pathetic attempts that Dennis found them absolutely laughable, to exorcise him out. He'd finally scared the landlord so badly a month ago, appearing before him, in a fit of anger, as the landlord's own dead mother that the landlord had screamed like a girl, fled the scene, and hadn't returned since. Dennis hoped he didn't return, though it was lonely here.

He'd also spent the entire year hoping that Angel or one of Cordelia's other friends would come by, but no one had. They had all forgotten about him for it was only Cordelia to whom he'd ever been important. The year had crawled by without a single sign of any of them, and though it had only been one year, it had felt like a hundred. Now, at long last, the sun was beginning to sink behind the horizon again, and Dennis' spirit thrilled. It was time! It was Halloween again at long last, and this Halloween, nothing was going to stop him from rescuing his Princess or, rather, seeing that her dumb ass Knight finally got his crap together and did what he should have done years ago! He fled the apartment as soon as he was able to, soaring high and shooting straight for Angel.

**To Be Continued . . . **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Lorne sighed, his red horns curling downwards, as his blood red irises looked deep into Angel's psyche. He idly swung the champagne glass he clutched in one green hand. "You're not coming, are you?"

Angel still wouldn't look at him. He stood with his back to him, his pale hands entwined behind his back, and dark eyes staring out into the city from his office window. "No," he finally answered.

Lorne released another heavy sigh meant to send Angel on a guilt trip he wasn't taking this night. He was already booked full with a guilt trip that never ended, and he didn't have time to feel sorry for his friends who still lived. "Suit yourself, Angelcakes, but Brown Eyes wouldn't want you being such a party pooper." He started to leave but was stopped by Angel's quiet statement of rebuttal.

"This isn't about Cordelia."

Lorne smiled sadly, his red eyes twinkling knowingly. "Don't lie to yourself, handsome. Everything's about Cordelia. We all know it, and you do too. But we can't go back. We can't change what's happened. If we could, if there was any way possible to bring her back, you know we'd all be right behind you." He stepped out but paused once more. "If you change your mind," he added, "there's cinnamon blood."

"Go enjoy your Dead Man's Party," Angel snarled softly, his depressing words barely audible. "This dead man has nothing left to celebrate ever again."

Lorne remained paused for a moment, his green hand hovering on the door knob. He wanted to tell his friend that there was still plenty to celebrate for they still lived, but he knew, deep down, that Angel was right. The brightest light that had ever sparkled in any of their lives was gone, extinguished like a flame being blown out by a wind in the night. Their lives would never be the same without Cordelia, and Angel's heart had died with the Princess. He sighed again and shut the door. Angel may not have anything left to celebrate, but he wouldn't let the rest of his life go down the same miserable and lonely path. He would celebrate, even if his heart wasn't truly in the party.

Angel released his own heavy sigh as Lorne shut his office door behind him. The rest of his friends wouldn't come by to bother him tonight. They all knew better except Lorne. For some reason, the Demon kept trying. Angel secretly knew it was because Lorne's heart was full of love and care for himself and all of his friends. Lorne's heart was as big as Cordelia's had ever been, but Angel wouldn't go there. Not tonight or any other night, he promised himself as he tried yet again to drink his sorrows away in his blood.

He recalled Lorne's offer of cinnamon blood. He'd known that Cordelia had made his drink special for him. She had tried everything she could think of to improve the taste of his blood short of making it fresh from the humans' necks. Nothing had tasted quite as good as when she'd stirred in the cinnamon with her delicate touches, but nothing, not even cinnamon blood, tasted the same after he'd lost his love. Blood was blood, and it was simply his way of surviving to protect a world that, with his beloved Cordelia's passing, no longer held anything for him. He wanted to die, but if he died, if he just walked out into the morning sun as he yearned achingly to do with each sunrise, he would make Cordelia's sacrifice be for naught. She had died trying to protect their world, and he would carry the burden she had left, a burden which she had, oddly enough, picked up from him, and protect that same world for as long as he existed, no matter how miserable that existence.

"He's right, you know." Angel's eyebrows rose. He hadn't heard any one enter his office, and the voice sounded familiar. It reminded him of some one he'd not heard from in over a year, but it couldn't be him. There was nothing left for them to say to each other. They'd never had anything, in common, after all except for Cordelia. "Cordy wouldn't want you moping and acting Dead Boy General Moody. She'd want you to go after her."

Angel whirled around, his black trench coat flapping around his long legs, and gazed at the intruder to his office. He glared angrily at him, but Dennis just looked calmly back into Angel's transformed face as he continued to float above his desk. "She wouldn't want me dead!" Angel snarled. "If she did, I would have walked out in the damn sun the day after I buried her!"

Dennis shook his head and smiled sweetly. "Nobody said anything about dying, honey. I was talking about living."

"What the Hell are you talking about?" Angel snarled.

Dennis grinned. He couldn't help it. Cordy was right: Angel was handsome and even a little fun when he was pissed off over something that would very soon make him incredibly happy. Then he looked into Angel's dark eyes, the windows to his soul, and his smile vanished as soon as it had appeared. Angel had been suffering as greatly as he himself had been without their beloved Princess still shining her light in their world. Angel did love her, and he would, Dennis knew again, have done anything to save her, even if it had meant giving his own afterlife and even his very shanshu up forever.

"It's not too late," he suddenly bubbled out. "She's still alive or, at least, kind of alive! That wasn't her who came back in her body! That was Jasmine, all along! We can still save her, Angel!"

Angel stared at Dennis, unsure rather or not he should believe him. "Are you real?" he breathed shakily.

Dennis smirked. "Yes, I'm real, and this is real. Cordelia needs us."

"How do I get to her?"

"I've thought about it. I've thought about it all year. The best thing we can do is go back to that night she was coming to tell you she loves you."

"She was going to tell me she loved me?"

"Not, loved. Loves. She's still there. I saw her last year, but she's trapped in between dimensions. She was caged by Jasmine, who tricked her on that night by coming to her and pretending to be the Powers That Be. She told her she could help you in so many more ways if she came with her, that she could save the world, she could save you."

"Just tell me how to get to her," Angel demanded, growling and feeling renewed energy flush through his veins for the first time since he had seen his beloved Cordelia with his son. "Tell me how to save her, Dennis. I'll do anything."

"I know, but I don't know how to do what we need to do."

"What do we need to do?"

"We need to go back, Angel. We need to go back to that night, and you need to be on that bridge. You've got to stop her from taking Jasmine's offer. You stop from going, from leaving this world, and our Cordy will be okay. She'll still be alive."

Angel blinked. "Go back in time?"

"There has to be a way. Anything's possible. She taught us both that."

Angel nodded. "You're right," he said, and Dennis could practically see his mind going into overdrive as he raked it for a solution. Then Angel started to run. He leapt over his desk, passed right through Dennis, and kept running straight to the staircase that overlooked the party. Then he roared, his fangs flashing, "WESLEY!" Wesley would have the answer. He had to. Now that Angel knew his beloved Cordelia still lived, he would stop at nothing to get her back.

Every one down in the party turned to look up at their boss, whose Vampire face was fully in place with the desperate panic pounding within him. Angel ignored the whispers that ran rampant through the crowd as Wesley and Spike both ran to him. "What the Hells got your knickers in a twist this time, Angel?" Spike demanded, but Angel ignored even him as his eyes met Wesley's.

Wesley saw the panic in his eyes as well as the silent, begging plea. "Tell me we've got a spell for going back in time."

Wesley looked at him in surprise as he wondered what on Earth was going on. Then his eyebrows shot up, and he pushed his glasses hard back onto the crook of his nose as he saw Dennis bobbing in the air behind Angel. "I do have one," he offered, "that I've been working on, but it's only good for ten minutes."

Angel studied him. "Going back in time ten minutes," he demanded, "or reaching the time you want and only being able to be there for ten minutes?"

"Only getting to stay for ten minutes."

Angel nodded decisively. "It'll have to work."

Lorne, Fred, and Gunn had all arrived behind Wesley and Spike. "Angel, babe," Lorne complained, "what's this all about? You're crashing my party!"

"I'm going back for Cordelia," Angel stated. Lorne's mouth fell open. Wesley's eyes shot wide. Fred and Gunn looked at each other, and Spike grinned.

"Don't know how yer gonna do it," the blonde Vampire said, "but it's about time you tried something."

"But . . . " Fred's voice trembled. "But she's dead."

"Her body's dead," Dennis corrected from behind Angel, "but her soul is very much alive."

Wesley's brain spun. "That's why you want the spell: so you can go back to when it all happened and keep her from going down that pathway."

Angel nodded.

"Only one can go," Wesley warned.

"That's fine. I'll do it, but hurry."

Wesley nodded. "I will." He raced up the stairs to his office and the safe whose combination only he knew.

Angel looked at the others who still remained. "Go back to your party."

Lorne was the first to shake his head. "No way, Angelcakes. If you're going after Brown Eyes, we're going to be right there for you both."

"Lead the way, boss man," Gunn spoke, and Fred nodded.

Spike just looked at Angel. His expression was plain. They had had their disputes too many times to count over the years, but he'd not be anywhere but as close to him as he could be as he went through this and tried to get his love back. He knew they were all love's bitches, and it was, as he'd said, far past time that Angel had pulled out all the stops to get his beloved back.

Angel looked back to them. "Come on!" Dennis wailed impatiently. "Let's go!" They turned and raced up the stairs after Wesley, and for the first time, in over a year, in what felt like an entire lifetime of misery, Angel smiled. Cordelia was still alive, and soon he'd have her back at his side or he'd die trying and then be with her in the afterlife forever more!

**To Be Continued . . . **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Scant minutes later, Angel stood in a pentagram in the middle of the library floor. His friends surrounded him, each wearing a look of deep concern, and for the first time in ages, he remembered what his beloved Cordelia had told him. They were more than a team and more than just friends. While she had been alive with them, they had become a family, and now for the first time in a very long time, Angel was beginning to feel that again.

Spike grinned at him. "Go rip off Jasmine's head and spit down her neck for me, Pops." His fangs flashed.

Gunn nodded. "Good luck, Angel."

"Remember," Lorne advised him with a reassuring smile, "love can conquer all. You just have to believe in yourself and in her, and don't waste a second once you get there."

Fred's voice trembled as she spoke, and Gunn wrapped his arms protectively around her slender waist. "Bring her home, Angel."

Angel nodded and forced down the tight ball of emotions that was beginning to clog his throat. "Wesley," their eyes locked, "do it." Wesley nodded and immediately started the spell. Angel watched him as he recited the spell he had created, the spell that would allow him to go back in time and rescue his beloved Cordelia but only if he could succeed in doing so in ten minutes. Of all of his team's members, Wesley had been his friend the longest, and yet there had been a time, only a few years ago, when he would have gladly killed the young Watcher rather than look at him. It had been Cordelia who had managed the fragile peace between them and helped to keep Wesley from being killed not only by himself but by their enemies. It had been Cordelia, he thought, looking around at the faces staring back at him, who had saved them all, and now he would finally save her as he should have years ago on that fateful night when she had first gone missing.

He should have known she was in an alternate dimension. He should have found her more quickly. He should have saved her. He should have told her he loved her. And now, at long last, he would finally get the chance to do all that. Angel just hoped he could manage it in time as he felt a great suction pulling back on him.

His leather trench coat began to flutter; his spiked hair flew straight up on his head. Winds wrapped around him, pulling at every inch of him, and began to howl as they whipped at him. He could barely hear Wesley's voice still chanting as he was engulfed by lights so bright they almost blinded him. His legs were ripped out from underneath him, and Angel went spinning.

The world spun around him. He could no longer hear Wesley, but he heard, or perhaps rather felt, a great pulsating to which he could neither name nor identify a source. It enveloped his senses, and all he knew for some time was the spinning, flashing lights, and that thundering pulsing. He didn't know how long it lasted. It could have been years, months, minutes, or even just scant seconds, but it felt like he passed through another lifetime before the pulsing finally died away. Still, the world spun around him as he tried to regain his balance.

The bright lights became one solid, golden light, and Angel shielded his dark eyes with his hand as he looked toward it. At last, his feet felt something firm beneath them, but then he slipped down and landed hard on his back. He rolled to his booted feet and looked again toward the light. He winced at its brightness. It was the brightest thing he had ever seen, and he couldn't look at it straight. He hid his face behind his hand and then peeked again through his pale, splayed fingers as he heard a voice.

It was booming and covered the entire area, and yet simultaneously it seemed gentled, reassuring, and promising. "Come to us, Cordelia Chase. Come to us, and we will teach you to save the world in ways you never thought possible."

"C-Can I save him?"

Angel's head popped up, his black eyes going wide. That was Cordy! He tried to find her, but everywhere he looked, all he could see was the bright, golden light and the faint outlines of cars. "CORDELIA!" he cried and raced toward the sound of her voice.

"Angel?" At long last, he saw just the silhouette of the woman he loved. "What are you doing here?" He ran toward her, relying entirely on his other senses to cut between the cars as his dark eyes remained blinded by the brilliant light.

"I CAME FOR YOU!" he shouted.

"He will not let you help him, Cordelia. You know he is the savior of the world. He has always been bent on saving every one around him while sacrificing himself. This is your chance to free him, to help him become human again. Is that not what you want?"

"CORDELIA, DON'T GO! I LOVE YOU!"

She stood on the bridge, gazing at him. Despite the brightness of the golden light pouring out of the dark skies, her hazel eyes could still see the man she loved running after her. She saw the desperation on his face and noted the way his dark eyes winced in the bright light. Her heart swelled as he shouted his love for her, but yet she remained caught on the precipice of a decision that would change her life forever no matter what she decided. "I LOVE YOU TOO!" she called back to him.

"And that is precisely why you want to save him," the being behind the light guided her. "Come with us. We can save him together."

"DON'T LISTEN TO HER!" Angel roared, and Cordelia was surprised at the ferocity with which his fangs flashed.

"Angel?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

He did not take the time to answer her, however, as he finally reached her. He barreled into her, knocking them off of the bridge and wrapping his arms protectively around her as they fell into the ocean. He heard Jasmine's crooning voice as she reprimanded, "Naughty, naughty children. Here I have come to help, and you run from me."

"Angel!" Cordelia gasped as she spat out water. Her hazel eyes flashed up at him. "What are you doing?"

"Saving you," Angel told her confidently as her panicked heartbeat roared in his ears. "I know you're angry with me right now, Cordelia, but give me a moment, please, to explain."

She grinned at him. "I'm not angry with you," she admitted, shaking her head. "How can I be angry with you when you just told me you love me?" She cupped her hands around his handsome face and kissed him long and deep, her tongue thrusting gently into his mouth and wrapping against his own heated tongue. Their hearts soared, and Angel's spirit floated like he had never known it could. This was truly the happiest moment in his life, but then he heard Jasmine's voice again.

"Come out. Come out wherever you are!"

Reluctantly, he broke free from Cordelia's kiss. "I love you, Cordy," he told her again, "but we don't have time for this." He swam with her and carried them to the darkest corner beneath the bridge before finally looking at her again. His hands cupped her face; his thumbs brushed her fragile, golden flesh.

Cordelia smiled up at him, her hazel eyes dazzling him. She was the most confused she'd been in a long time, but it didn't matter. Angel loved her, and no matter what else was going on in their crazy world at the moment, that was really all that mattered! "I don't have long," Angel confessed. "Just ten minutes."

Horror struck Cordy's eyes. Her mouth flew open to protest, but he hushed her protests by placing a single finger against her soft, pursed lips. "And then we'll have a lifetime," he vowed, "but you've got to listen to me."

She nodded as she bobbed in the water against him and tried to ignore the heat flooding through her from the way his body pressed against hers in the cold, evening water. "I'm not the Angel you know. I come from the future."

She had to say something at that but kissed his finger before removing her lips from it and dodging his attempt to silence her again. "Why aren't I surprised?" she asked with another grin and a shake of her head. "I swear, if anything ever went half way normal in our lives, I'd be shocked!"

The clock was ticking; Angel could hear chimes in his head as the minutes passed by them. "I don't have long," he repeated. "You've got to listen to me, Cordelia. On this night, in my time, you went with that being." He shook his head. "She's not what she pretends to be. She's not the Powers That Be. She's an evil Goddess. She used you, trapped you, and came back to us in your body. She almost destroyed the world. We managed to defeat her at last, but the damage had been done."

Tears began to well in his shimmering, dark eyes as he remembered. He wouldn't tell her everything. He wouldn't tell her that Jasmine had laid Connor and used his son and her body against him. "What happened almost destroyed all of us. It did destroy you." Cordelia's hands again cupped her beloved Angel's handsome face as his tears finally started to slip free of his control. She'd never seen him cry before, and her heart ached to see him so upset. "I lost you, Cordy," he whimpered, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tightly to him. He buried his face in her silken, raven hair. "I can't bare to do it again!"

She yearned to just hold him and let him cry. She wanted to kiss away his tears and assure him that he'd never lose her again, but his words of warning that he had such scant, few minutes echoed in her ears. She forced herself to pull back from him and gazed deeply into his sensual, dark eyes as she continued to lovingly cup his handsome face in her hands. "Just tell me what I have to do, Angel," she vowed, "and I'll do it whatever it is. You won't lose me this time."

He nodded and bit down on his lip, forcing himself to regain control. They didn't have time for him to lose it, but he'd be damned if he didn't just want to stay here in the ocean, holding to her, for the rest of their lives. But he couldn't. He didn't have time to. If his calculations were correct, he only had two, maybe three, more minutes, and then he'd be gone again from this time period, no matter how desperately he wanted to stay. If there was an enemy he could fight for the right to stay, he'd gladly stake them immediately, but there was none. The spell wouldn't give him a chance; it would just snap him back to his rightful time period when his time here was up.

"Stay down here," he told her. "Stay away from her. She can't come into this world unless you go to her, unless you say yes. There's no telling what all she'll offer you, but tell her no no matter what she says or does. I'm going to be trapped, too, but Wesley will find me. Stay with him. Even if he tries to push you away, stay with him, and as soon as I'm back, tell me what I've told you tonight."

His fingers trembled as they raked gently through her hair. "Then, together, we'll find a way to defeat her and keep her from ever coming into our world." The fingers of his hand delicately traced her upturned mouth. "We'll keep her from killing you, from destroying us, and we'll be happy together." He could feel himself beginning to be pulled back to the future and rushed to conclude, "I'll be in a dark place when you find me again, but just tell me you love me. I've loved you for years now, Cordelia, but I was just too scared to tell you."

He smiled, but his grin weakened from the strain yanking on his body and spirit. "Doyle was right when he called you a Princess. You are a Princess, my Queen of my heart, and I'm just a Vampire. I never dared to tell you I love you before, because I believed you could never love a monster."

He was going. Cordelia could see it in the fear in his face, the anxiety slipping back into his voice, and the emotions flickering in his big, dark eyes. Then she saw his body begin to fade before her very eyes. "I'll do it, Angel," she swore, talking more quickly than she ever had before in all her life. "I'll do it. I won't let her in, and I will find you, and then we'll be happy! I love you! Never forget that!"

She threw her arms around him and clung to him desperately as she kissed him again. He returned her kiss, trying his best in that one moment in time to show her how much he had and would always love, need, desire, and want only her for all time and infinitely beyond, and then they both gasped as they were yanked apart and he was thrown head first into the future.

**To Be Concluded . . . **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

He landed so hard onto the floor in the library that he instantaneously felt a couple of his ribs break. His mouth hit the floor, and he wiped away blood from his cracked lips as he sat up carefully. His head spun, and fear coiled its icy length into him as Angel found himself alone. Cordelia was gone; his friends were gone! There wasn't even a pentagram on the floor, and then as Angel stood on shaking legs, he realized that there would have been no pentagram if he had not had to enlist Wesley's aid in going back into time.

Music was playing downstairs, so he wasn't alone. Wiping the blood off of his mouth with the back of his hand, Angel raced from the library and down the steps. The foyer was filled with people and Demons alike, and Spike was the first one of his team whom he saw. The blonde Vampire lifted a cup of blood to him. "Cheers, mate," he said, grinning, with his dark eyes shimmering merrily.

Angel could smell the cinnamon in the blood despite the few feet that still separated them, but Lorne had said he'd mixed cinnamon with the blood for tonight's party. Cinnamon blood did not mean his beloved was there, no matter how desperately he wished otherwise. He whirled around, his dark eyes desperately roaming over the crowd in search of any sign that his beloved Cordelia had indeed made it. He saw Gunn and Fred laughing. He caught Wesley's eye, and Wes smiled at him as he started to come over.

Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked down to see Lorne's green skin and carefully manicured nails. "She's not here yet," he told him gently. "The party's just beginning. You know Cordy. Brown Eyes has got to be fashionably late."

"She's here?" Angel trembled, turning and cautiously lifting his eyes to Lorne's reassuring, red orbs.

Lorne smiled and nodded. He didn't know why Angel was so panicked. He had no clue as to what he had just gone through, but he had known from the moment he'd seen his friend's pale face that something bad had happened. "She's here," he assured him.

"In fact, she'll be down in just a minute," a new voice said, and Angel looked to see Dennis bobbing up to them. His dark eyes widened in surprise. The ghost was no longer flying; instead, he was walking and seemed as solid as Spike. He grinned up at Angel. "I just helped her put the finishing touches on her costume."

"Dennis . . . " Angel spoke, his eyes raking up and down his small body.

Dennis grinned. "Don't look at me like that, Angel, cupcakes," he said, standing next to Lorne. "You keep that gaze for your love." He laughed.

Angel joined into his laughter, but his nervousness showed in his chuckle. His mind whirled. What was happening here? How was Dennis standing before him? How had he been freed from the apartment? Wait, it was still Halloween. Maybe that was why he was here, and what did he mean by helping Cordy to put on the last touches of her costume?

Lorne studied Angel from inquisitive, red eyes. A Demon didn't need to be able to read souls to feel empathy for everything, and his best friend was on pins and needles and about to fall apart without his beloved. He felt a new entrance to his party and looked up with a grin, cocking his head in a sign that Angel should follow his gaze. "She's here," he repeated.

If Angel had still been breathing, he would have lost all his breath upon sight of his beloved, beautiful Princess. She was dressed like the Princess she was and sparkled in the party's disco lights. Wesley had just arrived behind him as Angel left Lorne, Dennis, and Spike and raced up the stairs.

"Something was bothering him," Wesley commented. "Do you know what it was?"

Lorne shook his head. "I have no idea," he said, sipping his bubbly, "but clearly, whatever it was is fine now. Love makes everything right." The four men smiled as they watched their friends envelop each other in a huge hug and passionate kiss.

Angel's arms glided around Cordelia's waist, and he lifted her into the air, spun her around, and brought her back down against him. Cordy laughed, her hazel eyes sparkling merrily, as she lowered herself down against his body. "Happy Halloween to you, too!" she exclaimed, smiling, and then kissed him again.

Angel's heart soared as Cordelia kissed him. He was so happy in this moment that he almost expected to be transformed and his evil side released, and yet nothing happened. Vague memories began to resurface in his mind as he continued kissing the woman he loved, their lips and tongues dueling with sweet passion. He had been happy since the moment Cordelia had confessed her love for him. Angelus had escaped, but Willow and Wesley had saved the day, freeing him, at long last, of Angelus' curse, and Cordy had not sent him to Hell as Buffy had. Instead, she'd fought the Slayer herself to keep him safe, and they'd been together ever since his curse had been lifted, together and happy and . . .

Angel's brow furrowed, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. He stopped kissing Cordelia, took her left hand, and looked down at her hand. His smile grew even more enormous as her golden wedding band winked up at him. "What's wrong with you?" Cordelia asked with a giggle. "Of course it's still there!" She pushed playfully at him. "I love you, dumb ass, not anybody else!"

"I LOVE YOU TOO!" he shouted and whirled her around again, kissing her once more. Then he realized that the party had come to a halt and everybody was watching them. He stopped kissing her to call back down to their friends, family, and a few others whose faces he did not yet recognize. "GO BACK TO YOUR PARTY!" he called. "Life is a dead man's party, after all!" he exclaimed.

Of all the faces of his friends and those he didn't know, as well, gathered in the party below them, it was Dennis' eyes that Angel's gaze met again. The younger man was beaming with pride and happiness, and at last Angel remembered how he'd come to be here. Going back in time for just ten minutes had changed everything and improved their lives in ways he would never have thought possible before Dennis had come to him earlier that night with the news that his beloved Cordelia still lived. It hadn't just been Cordy, however, who he'd saved by going back into time.

Dennis had been Cordelia's best friend for years, and though she'd wanted to move out and live with Angel when they'd gotten together, she'd been loathe to leave him. When Spike had showed up in their lives as a ghost, they'd finally been given a chance to study ghosts. It had been Wesley who had figured out how to release Dennis from being trapped in the apartment building by taking a small piece of the wood of the wall behind which he'd been buried, twisting it into a ring, and giving it to Cordelia. She wore two rings now, one on either hand. One was her wedding ring, and the other was her friendship ring with Dennis that let him go wherever she was.

Angel grinned. They deserved their friendship, and Dennis deserved to be able to go wherever his beloved Cordy was. After all, if it hadn't been for him, Angel would have never realized she still lived. He would never have thought to go back in time. She'd still be dead, and he'd still be seeking death at every avenue. Thanks to Dennis, he had saved three beings: Cordy's, his own, and Dennis'.

He felt Cordy squeeze his hand, and looked down into her beautiful eyes once more. She was alive! They were together, they were married, and he was living a miracle! He beamed down at his beloved Princess. "Is it?" she asked, her brows raised and a mischievous grin playing temptingly over her lovely face.

He blinked in confusion, having forgotten about what she was asking him. "Is it what?"

She grinned and giggled; her hazel eyes shone happily. "Is life a dead man's party?"

"It is," he said, kissing her hand, "as long as I've got you! Happy Halloween, Cordy!" He meant the words for the very first time as he set back to kissing her, determined to make up for all their loss time. Life really was a dead man's party, and this was the only truly happy Halloween he'd ever had. With his beloved, amazing, and wonderful Cordelia at his side, however, Angel knew, that life, and Halloween, were going to get ever better, and he couldn't wait to spend the rest of eternity at his bride's loving side forever more!

**The End**


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